MATERIALS
Board
• For my support, I used a 4mm thick MDF board (Medium Density Fibreboard), which sells as a large sheet
from a hardware store
• Box-cutter
• Steel rule
• Cutting mat (to cut the MDF board)
• 6cm wide house paint brush for under-coating the board
• Primer-Sealer-Undercoat’ house paint
• 35mm long x 25mm wide
Taklon synthetic bristle Brush for the final coats
• Fine sponge sandpaper to lightly sand between each coat
Layout
• Camera, with a 70-210mm lens, to photograph the subject close-up
• Computer with a ‘photo-altering’ program, like Photoshop
• 2B pencil and a sheet of Bank layout paper, for drawing the cartoon on
• Stencils, ruler and a compass are useful for drawing
the geometric shapes
• Soft grey lead pencil, or coloured chalk, to shade the back of the cartoon for tracing
Brushes
• The first brush I used was the ‘airbrush’ with acrylic paint, diluted with water, to a consistency of milk. The airbrush head sizes were ‘L’ large head for the sky and the ‘F’ fine head for the clouds, with an air compressor set at 30psi.
• The paint brushes for my oil painting can be any soft bristles, sable or synthetic, just make sure they have a good pointy tip. (Instead of a brush size, I will write the approximate bristles length and width, as different manufacturers have different numbers for the same size brush).
• For painting long, straight edges, I used a 25mm long x 1mm wide (25 x 1mm) bristle brush, generally called a script brush. For blending, I use a 15 x 1mm brush, generally called a liner brush and a 10 x 1mm brush.
• If a just painted area needs softening, or the texture flattened, I lightly brush over that area with a rounded, pure sable brush, 10 x 2mm.
• An angular brush 5 x 3mm is useful to wipe away overlapped paint.
Paints
Airbrushing – Mattise ‘Flow Formula’ acrylic paint:
Naphthol Crimson
Titanium White
Ultramarine Blue
Yellow Mid
Oil painting
Art Spectrum opaque paints:
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Cadmium Maroon (Cadmium Red is okay)
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Yellow
Cobalt Blue
Lilac
Naples Yellow
Tasman Blue
Titanium White
Yellow Ochre
Other
The only medium that I use for the oil painting is Refined Linseed Oil, when the paint is too thick when mixing, or if I need a bit of flow for painting the straight edges. Masking tape is useful to protect painted areas Can of Matt Spray Picture Varnish
STEP ONE
I usually start a new painting by looking through my stored digital photographs, on the computer, that I have taken over the years. Today I selected the kookaburra on the TV antenna photo because I like the contrast of the hard, geometric shapes of the antenna, opposed to the soft curves of the bird, naturemade verses man-made. Also, I wanted to do a small painting, as more detail can be seen after the image is reduced to fit on a page.
STEP TWO
I opened the photographed image of the kookaburra on the antenna in a photo-altering computer program. I then scaled the kookaburra close to life-size, added a 2cm yellow grid on top and cropped away the unwanted background to form my composition. I ended up with a painting size of 22 x 28cm.
Next I made some adjustments to the image. I didn’t like the bird’s beak touching one of the antenna arms, so I tilted the head a bit. I also didn’t like all those antenna braces, because it looked too busy, so I removed a couple. The vertical post behind the bird was too high,so I lowered it. I thought a little colour would be good, so all the black plastic fixtures on the antenna were changed to a crimson colour. To create depth, I added some clouds on the bottom and put the moon in to balance the composition. I have photos of clouds and a moon already to use as reference.
Next, I printed this altered image from the computer, which will be my reference for the cartoon drawing. I also printed out the original photo (as in Step One), cropping away the unwanted areas, on a high quality, A4 size, photographic paper. This print was used as my detail reference when I started to paint in oils.
STEP THREE
Next step is to draw the cartoon (an outline) for the painting in pencil. I started by drawing the painting’s size on a sheet of thin Bank paper and then cut it out. After I marked the 2cm spaces along the edges, I then drew lightly the 2cm grid, the same proportion as on my print out (as in Step 2).
Next I drew the cartoon, using any means to make the antenna accurate. I used geometric stencils, a compass, a ruler and my printed out original photo as reference. For the kookaburra, I sometimes went back to the computer to lighten and enlarge the very dark areas, so as to see the detail there on the monitor.
Finally, I taped the finished cartoon to the window, the front facing the glass, and shaded the back of the cartoon with a soft grey lead pencil, covering all the lines that I can see through the paper. Now the cartoon is ready to be transferred to the support.
STEP FOUR
For my support, I used a 4mm thick MDF board (Medium Density Fibreboard). From the large sheet, I cut out the 22 x 28cm piece for my painting’s support. I used a box-cutter and a steel rule on a cutting mat to patiently cut through the sheet. Then I lightly sanded along the edges.
Next I coated the board with a white “Primer-Sealer-Undercoat’ acrylic paint with a 6cm wide brush. I first painted the front, when dry, I then painted the back, so that the board doesn’t warp. Next I painted the edges to seal the board from moisture entering inside. I painted another coat on the back, then up to six coats on the front. To get a paper-finish texture, light sanding with a fine sponge sandpaper is recommended after each coat has thoroughly dried. The final coat of paint, on the front, was painted with a diluted white acrylic artist paint, with the consistency of thick cream. I used a soft 35 x 25mm Taklon synthetic bristle brush.
Before I started airbrushing the background (the sky and clouds), I first painted the darkest sky tone using the Taklon brush. I mixed acrylic Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and a touch of Naphthol Crimson paints in a small glass jar, and mixed with water to a consistency of cream. I painted enough coats so the white undercoat could not be seen and, ever so lightly, I sanded in between each dry coat with a well-used, fine sponge sandpaper. Don’t sand after the last coat.
For the acrylic paint airbrushing, I used some of the sky colour already mixed and added in some white paint, for spraying on the lighter sky tones. The paint for the airbrush spraying was diluted with water to a milk consistency and filtered through some stockings type material to remove any impurities. The air compressor was set at 30psi. From the bottom to about two-thirds up, I airbrushed the lighter sky colour, spraying from side to side, starting closer to the painting at the bottom, then moving away from the board as I moved up. I gave it four light coats, waiting for the paint to dry after each coat, so it doesn’t run. I repeated the process again with two light coats of the cloud’s colour, Titanium White, with a touch of Yellow Mid. I only sprayed up about one-third of the painting to give the sky a soft, gradual, warm tone. Finally, I airbrushed in the clouds.
When all was dry, I taped the cartoon drawing onto the painting and traced the cartoon lines on to the board. I used a biro to clearly see if I missed any lines, and a ruler for the straight lines. For the rest, I just used freehand, as the curved edges will be evened-up by the paintbrush’s natural flow. I then removed the cartoon and now I’m ready to start the oil painting.
STEP FIVE
The first stage of oil painting is the ‘blocking’ or undercoat, and then followed by the final touch up painting. I first like to start painting on objects that are behind, but in this case, the kookaburra is in between the antenna, so I decided to paint the antenna first.
The colours I used for the metallic parts of the antenna were Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue, Lilac, Naples Yellow, Titanium White and Yellow Ochre. First I mixed all the colours and tones that I plan to use on the palette, placing them next to each other in tonal order. I mixed the paint to a thick paste consistency, and if the paint from the tube was too dense, I diluted it with linseed oil. I made sure I mixed enough paint for the touch-up work in the future. I also placed a few drops of linseed oil on the palette to use later, when I need to dilute some paint to flow better along the straight edges. I used a 25 x 1mm bristle brush for painting the straight edges.
I like to start working from the edges first and don’t worry too much if the edges are not exactly straight, as they will be touched up later when dry. After the edges were done, I then painted the middle colour down the centre of the antenna’s arm, and then added the other tones of paint parallel to each other. If any paint went over my cartoon’s kookaburra guide lines, I wiped it away with the angular brush, cleaning the bristles after each wipe. While still wet, I started to blend the colours together, one row at a time, with a 15 x 1mm soft bristle brush, until I was happy with the blending. If too much paint built up on the bristles, I cleaned it off with an old rag. Again, don’t worry too much if the blending is not exactly perfect, it will be touched up after it has dried. For the finer work on the tips of the antenna’s arms, I used the 10 x 1mm brush.
Because I didn’t finish painting the entire antenna in one day, I stored the palette in the deep freezer overnight. The next day, after it thawed, I continued painting the antenna and the winged nut. When finished, I placed the palette in the freezer, for the future touch-up work.
Next I mixed the colours for the plastic parts of the antenna, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Maroon, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson and Lilac, Again, as for the antenna’s metal arms, I painted in all the tonal lines first, starting from the edges, and then blended each painted line.
STEP SIX
When the entire antenna was dry, I started my touching-up on the areas that didn’t look right, using the thawed out paint. I used the ‘dry-brush technique, where very little paint is on the 10 x 1mm brush, wiping most of the paint on a dry section of the palette, before I started the touch-up. If some paint has overlapped too much on the toned area beside it, I used the angular brush to wipe it away. If any part of the touched up areas still didn’t look right, I let it dry overnight and re-touched those areas later. I didn’t worry too much about any paint that went onto the sky area, as it would be touched-up later. But sometimes, if it was too thick, I scraped most of it away with an old, ‘pencilled sharpened’ wooden paint brush handle, wiping it clean after each scrape.
On a new palette, I mixed the moon colours Titanium White and Tasman Blue. I painted the white areas of the moon first with a 10 x 1mm brush,using the cool Titanium White to send it back in distance. For any dark areas that needed work, I used Tasman Blue, as it just happened to be similar to the sky’s atmosphere colour. After it dried, I later did some touch-up.
For the kookaburra, I used Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Maroon, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Lilac, Tasman Blue and Titanium White. Before I started on the kookaburra, I placed some masking tape on the antenna to protect it.
With a 10 x 1mm brush, I first painted the kookaburra’s eye and its surround, then the beak and then the feet. For the wings, I used a longer bristle brush, 15 x 1mm, as I had more control with the straight edges. I used the same blocking technique as for the antenna, where I mixed all the colours first on a palette, then thinly brushed on the colours in the right areas, as on the photographic reference. I started with the outside edges first, followed by the inside colours, then blended all the colours next to each other. When too much paint built-up on the brush during blending, I removed it from the bristles, wiping it in a rag. The blending made the colours darker, but that’s okay, as, when dry, the lighter tones will be dry-brushed on. Finally, very lightly, I brushed over the wet painted area with a rounded, pure sable, 10 x 2mm brush to flatten the texture and soften the blending. It is important to continually keep wiping off any paint from the bristles.
STEP SEVEN
Now I’m ready to start the blocking for the rest of the kookaburra, using the 10 x 1mm brush. I started with the edges of the head and then painted in the colours next to each other, making all my brush strokes to follow the direction of the feathers. Then I did the blending before any paint dried, again following the direction of the feathers.
Next I painted the tail and did the blending while still wet and finally the body. I used the 10 x 2mm brush to apply the colours on the body and then the 10 x 1mm brush for the blending. After each blending section was finished and still wet, I very lightly brushed it with the sable brush to remove the textures and soften the brush strokes.
STEP EIGHT
A couple of days later, when the paint had sufficiently dried on the painting,I started the touch-up work on the kookaburra. This touching-up basically consists of straightening edges and correcting tones. I started with the darker tones first, then worked towards the lightest tones. I used the 10 x 1mm brush for the dry brush application, sometimes softening areas with the angle brush and finally, with very light strokes, I used the sable brush to soften the painting. Since the paint had been preserved in the freezer, I didn’t mix any more colours unless I wanted to introduce another colour or tone.
Sometimes an area requires re-working, then I brush with thicker paint, but otherwise I only use the drybrush technique, with a very thin layer of paint, and the strokes following the direction of the feathers. All this touching-up process is not very time consuming, but if you need to brush on another coat of paint on top, then overnight drying is needed first.
After I removed the masking tape, I gently scraped away any ridges of paint that may have accumulated on the tape’s edge with a razor blade, or sharp knife. Then I touched up those edges. Finally, using the Burnt Sienna colour, I painted some rust on the antenna and left it to dry overnight.
STEP NINE
This is the part I like best, applying the highlights and doing the final touch-ups. I started with the moon, then the kookaburra, antenna, my signature and finally the sky. I started dry brushing in the lightest tones first, and then worked my way to the mid tones. This is opposite to the previous touch-ups, as the mid and dark tones are basically completed. For the painted rusted areas, I very lightly dry brushed a slightly lighter tone over the whole antenna’s arm, to give the appearance the rust is imbedded in the metal. I liked it when I saw the new paint, from the dry-brush technique, only lightly skip over the tops of the raised, dry painted areas.
Personally, I favour when the artist’s name is legible, so viewers know who the artist is. Generally my signature is slightly larger and more contrasting to the background, but in this case, the bottom of the painting is quite busy, so I didn’t want to make it more complex. A dot of white paint on the eye and the painting is complete.
I will wait at least two weeks before I spray four coats of varnish, making sure each coat is dry first. I will still keep the paint palettes in the freezer for a week or so, in case I spot a fault that needs a touch-up. As at the end of each painting day, I wipe all the excess paint of the brushes onto an old rag, then, under a slow running tap, I briskly rub the bristles, in a painting motion, on a white bar of soap, until I see all the colour has washed off, then I rinse the brushes. After a quick wipe on a towel, I store the brushes away for the next painting day.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• When photographing an object,try to capture it as close as possible for the detail, hence a telescopic lens is useful.
• If the painting on a MDF board is larger than 50 x 50cm, I would glue a cross-bracing on the back to stop possible warping.
• A wide sponge brush is good to use to reduce texture when undercoating a large MDF Board. Also, when still wet, very lightly run the brush in the same direction to smooth out any ridges of paint.
• A good quality ‘Primer-SealerUndercoat’ house paint will do for undercoating the MDF board. The dearer the cost, the more pigment it has, so the less coats needed to cover the board.
• To paint straight edges, it is important to have a smooth surface texture, as your paintbrush bristles will otherwise bounce up and down. Besides airbrushing to have a smooth background, other painting techniques could be used.
• When airbrushing large areas side to side, keep the airbrush distance parallel to the board. For the airbrush to keep working well, regularly cleaning is recommended. For better tonal control, spray the darker tones first.
• A hairdryer is useful to speed up the drying time between each coat of acrylic paint.
• To keep the oil paint useable for many days, which you premixed on your palette, store it in your deep freezer. So as the paint will not be disturbed, place the palette in a small sturdy old cardboard box, or similar. It only takes about half an hour to thaw out.
• To reduce paint bleeding under masking tape, cover the tape with a sheet of paper, and with some pressure, run your fingernail along its edge.
